Tuesday, June 27, 2006

This is a picture of a capelet I crocheted recently. I had spun some absolutely gorgeous yarn, a blend of angora/silk/cashmere/and merino wool, then hand dyed some of the yarn for the motifs. The fiber was sooooooooo nice to spin!!!!!!! I am sure there are softer fibers out there but I can't think of any right off the top of my head. If anyone would like the pattern I could post it on here. It's pretty basic except for the flower motifs.

I finished reading "Yarn Harlot...the secret life of a knitter". It was fantastic!!! Two thumbs way up for this. If you like to read about knitting and great knitting stories, this is the book to pick up. I will read it again.

I recently received some hemp yarns and twine that I had ordered. WOW! The hemp twine is really cool to work with. If you haven't ever worked with hemp, try it! I crocheted some sandals with the twine that are awesome. I will try to have a picture of them the next time I write. I plan to sell the hemp yarn, twine, and things made from it on ebay and on my web site (if I can ever get the dang thing figured out). I will post pictures here as I complete the projects.

Well, I am still working on the lace project. I haven't done much the last week, ok, so I haven't even picked it up in the past week. At this rate I don't think I will ever finish it. It is beautiful!!! but who cares if you never get past the edging? I did show it to a friend of mine who had taken a lace knitting class a couple of weeks ago. She believes that lace knitting just isn't in her future after taking the class. However, she agreed that what I had knit, so far, was beautiful. Lace knitting is not for whimping, quick gratification, knitters that's for sure!

My kids are whining about needing breakfast so I better cut this short.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

I have had several people ask about the name "The Twisted Hare" so I thought perhaps an explanation was in order. For as many years as I can remember I have had an incurable habit of twisting my hair. Whether it has been long or short, the hair right at the base of my neck, preferably on the left side, has suffered hours of twisting. Of course, learning to spin yarn was a snap! After all, I had been "spinning" my hair for YEARS! The Hare part is because I love rabbits. I raised angoras for eight years and miss having them. Some day I intend to have one or two again. I put a picture on the last post of Blueberry. He is from one of my does first litters. The person that purchased him sent me this picture of him at the ARBA where he won "Best of Breed" in the French Angora division. I think he deserved it!!! He is beautiful.So, now you know.I decided to try lace knitting the other day. It is going well so far. However, I probably will still be working on the project 10 years from now. It certainly isn't a technique for those looking for instant gratification. I intend to post a picture of it as soon as there is something worth seeing. Right now it just looks like a bunch of knotted yarn. It is out of some of the most divine yarn (100% alpaca).I am still working on the web site. I will have my hemp yarn in sometime this week so stay tuned. Hopefully, the site will be up and running by next week.Happy knitting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

June 13, 2006So, I think I am finally figuring this blog/web site mess out (I think). I have come to the conclusion that my generation was robbed! Where were personal computers and cell phones when I was growing up! I can just imagine the fun I would have had as a teenager with the technical toys that kids have today. Yes, I realize that it has taken me two weeks to finally post another message, but it's not like I was taught computer stuff last year in High School (not to mention the demanding job of entertaining two children during the longest first few weeks of summer vacation). Finally, camp has started for us here in Colorado, and the children have something to do again. I'M FREE! I'M FREE! Actually, it's very quiet, almost spooky.I went shopping yesterday and (though I have been very good about not buying any patterns or books over the last few months) bought the sixth book, in only two weeks, on knitting. I don't know what happened. I guess they just hadn't come out with anything exciting for a while, or maybe it was because I have been purposely avoiding places that sell knitting books. Anyway, so now I am trying desperately to hide my sins by racing to the mail box each day so that my husband doesn't discover what I have done with his hard earned money. And, as they show up, I have to find a spot on my "already over-weighted, stuffed" bookshelf to hide the book so that it just blends in with the rest. I am so naughty!!! Wait until my yarn order gets here! It's a good thing my storage shed is really cluttered right now, he'll never notice the two extra boxes of yarn. Ok, so back to this book I bought yesterday. It is "Yarn Harlot-the secret life of a kniitter". If you haven't heard of Stephanie Pearl-Mcphee and read her blog or books yet, rush out right now and buy one!!! This is my first book by her and I am still giggling over just the introduction to the book. I can't seem to put it down either. I swear, she truly knows the inner mind of a knitter and yarn addict. She is the Erma Bombeck and Patrick McManus of knitting and yarn experiences. If you want a small taste of what the book is like I recommend visiting her blog site www.yarnharlot.ca. to sample some of her writting talents.Another book that I purchased, that showed up yesterday while my husband was at work (thankfully), is the "Vogue Knitting Ponchos On the Go!". If you are in to knitting ponchos, and I don't know a knitter that isn't right now, this is a great collection of patterns. The patterns are anywhere from simple to challenging, and all are beautiful. I love it when a book is FULL of patterns that make me want to sit down and knit every item featured at least once. So, if you haven't added this book to your library yet, I recommend picking one up soon.Well, only a few more books to find hiding spots for as they show up and I will be in the safe zone once again. As I explore the books I will post my reviews here. So stay tuned.

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can't imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.http://marniemaclean.comTake this quiz!